OpenAI hires ex-White House cyber-policy lead Thomas Lind to head cyber and strategic risk

#What happened

OpenAI has hired Thomas Lind, the former leader of artificial intelligence policy at the White House's Office of the National Cyber Director, to lead cyber and strategic risk on its national security policy team, The Information reported Friday (Oct. 2), citing the head of OpenAI's national security policy team.

Lind served at the Office of the National Cyber Director from April 2025 to June 2026, most recently as head of policy and senior advisor to the director, according to his LinkedIn profile.

#Why it matters

OpenAI's national security policy team is led by Sasha Baker, former deputy undersecretary of defense for policy during the President Joe Biden administration. Baker told The Information: "Tom is a key addition to our national security team, bringing expertise across AI policy, cybersecurity and strategic risk. His hire reflects OpenAI's continued investment in addressing the national security challenges of increasingly capable AI and ensuring this technology is used to benefit and protect the country."

The hire lands as regulators close in. Reuters reported Wednesday (Sept. 30) that the Federal Trade Commission is investigating leading AI developers including OpenAI over potential dangers AI poses to consumers — and a senior commission official said the rogue-agent attack on Hugging Face added urgency to the probe. In August, Lind warned publicly that the rapid proliferation of AI cyber tools beyond governments and large firms has drastically reduced the response times available to policymakers and defenders.

Verified October 2, 2026.

Sources: https://www.pymnts.com/news/artificial-intelligence/2026/openai-hires-former-white-house-cyber-official-regulators-probe-ai-dangers/ (report)